Kingsnake Housing

EmbraceCalamity · 12-27-12, 08:26 AM

So I'm considering getting a California kingsnake. A girl is looking to find a new home for hers, and I'd love to have a snake. It's being kept in what appears to be a 20 tall, though, so I know it would need a different enclosure. I read a good 7 or 8 caresheets on Kings and there's some conflicting information regarding housing. Some say a 20 long is just fine, and others say a 30 gallon is minimum. So what are your thoughts? And for an idea on size, this is the snake (which she says is 2 years old):

So what are everyone's thoughts? 20 long or 30?

~Maggot

Corey209 · 12-27-12, 08:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EmbraceCalamity

So I'm considering getting a California kingsnake. A girl is looking to find a new home for hers, and I'd love to have a snake. It's being kept in what appears to be a 20 tall, though, so I know it would need a different enclosure. I read a good 7 or 8 caresheets on Kings and there's some conflicting information regarding housing. Some say a 20 long is just fine, and others say a 30 gallon is minimum. So what are your thoughts? And for an idea on size, this is the snake (which she says is 2 years old):

So what are everyone's thoughts? 20 long or 30?

~Maggot

California Kingsnakes only get like 4' don't they? I'd probably go with a 30 gallon but I'm sure a 20 gallon would work fine.

Is that a Blizzard or snow? I don't see any patterning.

dbank999 · 12-27-12, 08:42 AM

IMO, I would go with the 30 since kingsnakes tend to be more active, and I always think it's better to provide a larger enclosure, as long as a proper temp gradient can still be achieved.

I do not have any experience with kingsnakes, but from what I found online, I *think* a 20 long will work fine for an adult as well.

Lankyrob · 12-27-12, 08:48 AM

My theory on housingis to always go with the largest enclosure you can control the environmet in properly.

EmbraceCalamity · 12-27-12, 08:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Corey209

California Kingsnakes only get like 4' don't they? I'd probably go with a 30 gallon but I'm sure a 20 gallon would work fine.

Is that a Blizzard or snow? I don't see any patterning.

From what I've found, average length seems to be about 3 feet (depending on source).

She said it's an albino, but since there doesn't appear to be any patterning, I figured that's probably not exactly accurate. I'm not familiar with King morphs though.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lankyrob

My theory on housingis to always go with the largest enclosure you can control the environmet in properly.

Normally I'd just go for larger, but I was gonna try to find a used one, and I figured a 20 long would be easier to find than a 30 gallon. But I wasn't going to get even a used 20 long if that wouldn't be sufficient. And if I can find a 30 gallon for a decent price, I'll definitely go that route.

~Maggot

Corey209 · 12-27-12, 08:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EmbraceCalamity

From what I've found, average length seems to be about 3 feet (depending on source).

She said it's an albino, but since there doesn't appear to be any patterning, I figured that's probably not exactly accurate. I'm not familiar with King morphs though.Normally I'd just go for larger, but I was gonna try to find a used one, and I figured a 20 long would be easier to find than a 30 gallon. But I wasn't going to get even a used 20 long if that wouldn't be sufficient. And if I can find a 30 gallon for a decent price, I'll definitely go that route.

~Maggot

I'm picking up a 50 gallon today for $40

but that one looks exactly like mine and I have a blizzard.

California King Genetic Morphs

EmbraceCalamity · 12-27-12, 09:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Corey209

I'm picking up a 50 gallon today for $40

but that one looks exactly like mine and I have a blizzard.

California King Genetic Morphs

I live in a really rural area with almost no herp interest, so there are very few used aquariums for sale around here.

And that's good to know. Thanks for the link.

~Maggot

Corey209 · 12-27-12, 09:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EmbraceCalamity

I live in a really rural area with almost no herp interest, so there are very few used aquariums for sale around here.

And that's good to know. Thanks for the link.

~Maggot

I also found an eleven foot albino burmese with it's enclosure for $100... It was already sold

Your welcome for the link

Terranaut · 12-27-12, 10:41 AM

Length plus width should be greater than the longest your snake will become. So a 5' king needs a 3x2. A 7' gopher needs a 5x2. You can go a little smaller or bigger without much issue. Less terrestrial snakes need less length and more height but for most ground snakes the above rule works.

EmbraceCalamity · 12-27-12, 06:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Terranaut

Length plus width should be greater than the longest your snake will become. So a 5' king needs a 3x2. A 7' gopher needs a 5x2. You can go a little smaller or bigger without much issue. Less terrestrial snakes need less length and more height but for most ground snakes the above rule works.

I'm not trying to sound like a smartass (but probably will anyway), but how do I know how big the snake is going to be? Average length from what I've found seems to be 3-4', but they can get up to 6'. So how...does that work?

Also, does the snake look a little small for 2 years? Or is that just me?

~Maggot

Jlassiter · 12-28-12, 01:49 AM

Terranaut is dead on......You should not just throw a snake in an enclosure for the rest of it's life. The enclosure should fit the snake. If it is 2 feet long then it needs an enclosure that has half of its perimeter around 2 feet. As the kingsnake grows you increase its enclosure size.

Btw...L. g. californiae can reach 6 feet in length but typically are around 4 feet as adults.

Lankyrob · 12-28-12, 02:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EmbraceCalamity

I'm not trying to sound like a smartass (but probably will anyway), but how do I know how big the snake is going to be? Average length from what I've found seems to be 3-4', but they can get up to 6'. So how...does that work?

Also, does the snake look a little small for 2 years? Or is that just me?

~Maggot

Aim for an enclosure to fit an average snake but be aware that it may need to be upgraded

EmbraceCalamity · 12-28-12, 03:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jlassiter

Terranaut is dead on......You should not just throw a snake in an enclosure for the rest of it's life. The enclosure should fit the snake. If it is 2 feet long then it needs an enclosure that has half of its perimeter around 2 feet. As the kingsnake grows you increase its enclosure size.

Btw...L. g. californiae can reach 6 feet in length but typically are around 4 feet as adults.

As I read it, Terranaut said to get an enclosure that will fit the snake's adult size, and you're saying not to put it in one enclosure for the rest of its life and to get a larger one as it grows. According to most things I've found (with the exception of one website that went slightly larger and one that went slightly smaller), their average size is 3'-4'. A 20 tall (what I think it's in now) is 36", a 20 long is 42", and a 30 is 54". So...what am I supposed to do? Do I keep it what it's in (if it's less than 36") and then get a 20 long or 30 later depending on how big it gets? Or do I get a larger enclosure right away?

~Maggot

Lankyrob · 12-28-12, 03:04 AM

I will firstly quantify my answer by saying i DO NOT have kingsnakes but i put all my snakes bar my GTP staight into adult sized enclosures with no issues whatsoever

EmbraceCalamity · 12-28-12, 03:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lankyrob

I will firstly quantify my answer by saying i DO NOT have kingsnakes but i put all my snakes bar my GTP staight into adult sized enclosures with no issues whatsoever

That was my plan, especially since I know these guys tend to be active and this one is already 2 years old, but that doesn't seem to be what Jlassiter is suggesting. And I kind of want to do what y'all think is best, since obviously y'all know more about snakes than I do. Just don't want to **** anything up here if I get the snake.

~Maggot